North of South - 2021 - The Tides in Our Veins

(52:46; Outsider Records)

This is the latest album from multi-instrumentalist Chechu Nos, who provides guitar, vocals, bass, drum programming, keyboards, and synths. He does most of the work himself, but has brought in some guests, most notably singer Rebecca Stanley who provides support on six songs, Tom S. Englund of Evergrey with vocals on one and Sakis Tolis of the mighty Rotting Christ providing additional vocals on another. I must also comment that the drum programming is also much better than most I have come across, although I will always favour having a sweating human actually hitting skins.

Many prog metal bands have progressive influences within their metal, or play progressive music with hints of metal, but not Chechu as here he blends the two genres in such a way that the music is always metal yet is also always progressive as he moves his riffs and styles into areas not normally associated with the genre. He describes it as, “cutting-edge mixture of Progressive and Fusion Metal with certain extreme elements taken from Black and Death, but also numerous prominent references to genres like Melodic Jazz, Pop and Latin/Hispanic music.” He has nailed what this album is about, while one notices Flamenco influences which also assist in moving the music in yet another direction. It does make it fascinating and interesting, but it may also somewhat alienate some of those who listen to the genre who may become somewhat confused at times. One certainly never knows what to expect, but it is an enjoyable romp, touching many musical bases and is even more interesting for that.

Kev Rowland, June 2022

Links:
https://northofsouth.es/en/